DualShade 350, a high performance shade structure fabric from Gale Pacific, was selected to fabricate nine shade sails for the Whitfords Nodes Park Project in Hillarys, Western Australia.

Designed by landscape architect Peter Pyrchla for the City of Joondalup, the Hillarys Beach Park redesign forms part of the greater development plan for the health and wellbeing hub at Whitfords Nodes. The new park was carefully designed to meet both functional and aesthetic objectives, while addressing the shortcomings in the existing park such as outdated play zones that offered little relief from the sun.

The redesigned park has a clean and modern look that blends in naturally with the coastal landscape. Pyrchla explained that some of the key features including play equipment and shade sails were selected specifically to reflect the bright summer tones of a ‘beach ball’.

Manufactured using a proprietary knit pattern, DualShade 350 shade fabric features a single colour on one side and complementary colour on the other. This creates a unique visual effect wherein the shade sail changes colour in a refreshing ‘pearlescent’ manner as one walks around the structure.

The fabricator, West Coast Shade achieved this effect using a 1-to-5 slope during construction. Each roll of material was flipped over during the fabrication process to suit the alternating blue and white design; though the process was challenging, the final visual outcome was well worth it, says the fabricator. “DualShade was really good to work with, it handled just like Commercial 95.”

Additionally, the shade sail material also had to meet the specified performance requirements in line with stringent protection standards, high-wind exposure and harsh coastal conditions. Features such as a UV block rating of up to 93.6%, and high quality, UV-stabilised yarn manufactured with a patented intertwining knit pattern to maximise durability, make DualShade 350 a more dimensionally stable fabric and help achieve superior long-term performance through an even distribution of force while tensioned. By reducing the frequency of having to re-tension the structure, maintenance costs are lower and the fabric lasts longer.

The use of DualShade 350 shade sail fabric adds an innovative and refreshing vibe to the Whitfords Nodes Beach Park. West Coast Shade used 200 square metres of the fabric to create the nine sails in Santorini colour. The project was completed in December 2019.

Photos by City of Joondalup & West Coast Shade

Architecture & Design Team

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Gale Pacific

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